Reminders of the Job
by rockcliffchic81
Summary: A future look into the final scene of 8x13.
1. Chapter 1

I was sitting comfortably in my office towards the end of the shift. It had been a slow night, which all in al I didn't mind so much. Gave me a chance to catch up on all the paperwork that had accumulated on my desk over the last little while. Thanks to my slightly open door I could hear Nick and Greg carrying on in one of the labs across the hall. They were vividly discussing what I could only assume was Greg's latest crush. From what I gathered, she was a member of swing shift brought in after Sara left. The boys never ceased to amaze me. The sudden ring of my office phone drew me back into my office surroundings. "Willow," I answered, snatching the handset up quickly.

"Catherine, thank god. Your cell phone is turned off," came the slightly elevated voice of my mother, Lily. I pass the pitch of her voice off to it being early morning but the CSI in me suddenly invaded my thoughts.

"Mom, what is it? Is Lindz okay? Are you?"

"Lindsay is fine. She's still asleep, thank god. I don't want her to see this. He's got to be crazy."

"See what? Who's crazy? Mom, what's going on?" My voice must have risen a fair bit because movement caught my eye and when I looked up I caught sight both Nick and Greg standing just inside my office door. I don't exactly know why I did it but I waved them inside and watched as Greg shut the door. My mother was taking her time in answering me. "Mom, hello, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry honey. There's some strange and deranged man sitting on the curb in front of the house. He's just sitting there, not really doing anything strange. But Catherine, he has a gun and every so often he turns to look back at the house and then down the street as if he's waiting and watching for someone. Honey, I think he's waiting for you."

"Mom, listen to me. Stay inside. And please whatever you do, do not let him into the house. I'm on my way." I hang up my phone before she has a chance to reply and am out of my chair only seconds later. I don't even have to say anything to the pair with me; they already know what they're doing.

"Go. I'll go let Grissom know where you are. Don't worry about it." Greg comments as he heads off in the direction of Gil's office. He's gone before I can thank him. I just turn my head back towards Nick, who's in a moment of time has grabbed both my jacket and my car keys. He hands me the jacket but keeps the keys. I fix him with a look.

"No. Not happening Cath. I'm driving. Leaves you free to focus on whatever it is that is going on. It's no problem. And I don't mind. Come on let's go." I just shake my head and follow Nick out to my car. I'll fill him in on the drive home. It always helps to talk to somebody after all.


	2. Chapter 2

In the car I called home, hoping for an update

In the car I called home, hoping for an update. I got my grumpy just woken daughter instead. "What!"

"Seriously Lindsey, that's no way to be answering the phone. A nice, good morning, or even a simple hello, would be so much more pleasant."

"Mom," Lindsey dragged the word out to get her annoyance at being awoken so early across. "It's something like 5 in the morning. Too early to be nice."

I actually had to agree with her on that one. She was picking up more of my habits. "Sorry sweetie, I was expecting Grandma to answer. I need to speak to her."

I should have been prepared for her scream, but it caught me off guard. I heard Nick snicker and just shake my head and smile. She's so my little girl. The familiar click of the extension and the loud slam of Lindsey's phone startled me slightly.

"Honey that you? Please tell me you're close." My mother's frantic voice greeted me seconds later.

"Yeah mom. We're almost there. What's going on? Has Leo done something?"

"You know him? He _is_ here for you. He's waiting for you. Catherine, I should be asking you, what's going on?" The pitch of my mom's voice increased slightly. I glanced quickly over at Nick to see that he had his full attention on the road. I knew he could hear my mother's voice; the silence around us was deafening but comfortable. I also knew I could trust him with whatever happened once we arrived.

"He was a suspect in one of our recent cases. He took it all a little hard. Stuff was revealed about him during our investigation and he didn't appreciate that, especially after he was found to be innocent. It was a big misunderstanding, that's all. Listen mom, just stay inside. We just turned onto the street. I can handle everything." I hung up the phone without giving her a chance to reply. She'd forgive me. I turned in my seat and looked over at Nick. "Thank you Nicky." I meant it. I could see my house coming up quickly on the left and sure enough Leo was now standing dead center on my front lawn waving a gun around. I silently agreed with my mother's assessment of crazy.

Nick reached him first, gun drawn and pointed directly at Leo. "What do you think you are doing, man?"

"I told her I'd do this. She knew. She should have been expecting it. She ruined my life." Leo pointed in my direction with the gun every time he said the word she. Truthfully, he was scaring me. I think it showed in my face because Nick stepped between Leo and I, blocking me from Leo's direct view. Silently I thanked him. "That bitch ruined everything. One day she'll get what's coming to her. Until then, she can live with this memory." Before either Nick or I could stop him, he moved the gun to his temple, turned to face my living room window, where I could see the silhouettes of both Lindsey and my mom and pulled the trigger. I stood frozen, watching, as he fell to the ground. Nick inched back towards me quickly, catching my fall before it even registered in my brain. He held me close and I heard him whisper, "It's not your fault Cath. Never."


End file.
